BENGALURU: Karnataka has been undertaking intensive capture and relocation operations to mitigate conflict. Now the state forest department is looking at adopting the Madhya Pradesh’s rewilding operation and implement it in Bhadra Tiger Reserve.
A senior forest department official said in Kanha Tiger Reserve, the foresters have created a separate large enclosure spread, where rescued tiger cubs for rehabilitation are housed here. They are left in a guarded habitat where they are monitored and the young ones are assisted to fend for themselves till, they turn independent. After which they are then released into the wild.
“It could be risky, like was the case with the introduction of Cheetahs. A controlled prey base is introduced when the tigers turn of age to hunt in Kanha. This can be done in Karnataka, where prey base is in abundance in dry patches so much that conflicts have started to rise, particularly with the Black Bucks, which now need to be relocated. So, these animals can be used for feeding the young ones in this captive environment. Rewilding will help for leopards and bears also,” the official said.
Additional principal chief conservator of forests, Bishwajit Mishra said, this method of operation has been discussed to implement the same in Karnataka.